Canvas
by CapriceTheAvenger
Summary: After years of living in the city, Sasuke comes home, however things have changed beyond what he imagined. AU


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the right to these characters. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto

Pairing(s): NejiSasu (Main), Slight ItaSasu (Later in the story), NejiShika

Summary: After years of living in the city, Sasuke comes home, however things have changed beyond what he imagined. AU

Rating: M

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Canvas: Chapter One

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The day was as gloomy as they came, the sun at its highest in the sky, yet it did not outshine the clouds threatening to seize the skies. The streets were empty save for the lone vehicle driving straight down the only road leading back to his old home village. The vast, endless fields surrounding this lonely road went on forever it seemed, occupied by an ox or two, maybe a few cattle here and there.

As depressing as the outskirts of this little village seemed, Sasuke was surprisingly happy to be returning home. He'd been away for far too long, and living in a bustling city which never slept, had grown intolerable. When Sasuke had first arrived in the city, he hadn't much minded the noise; they put him to sleep on the nights when he could think of nothing but the people he left behind. However, everything began to remind him of what he was missing back home.

The silence and vacancy was a drastic, but much embraced change from the city, and the closer he came to his destination, the young raven became all the more anxious to see his loved ones once again.

As he drove onward, Sasuke cherished the picturesque scenery, the silver lining at the edge of angry clouds, and most of all, the peace he could never obtain in his previous location, with all its pollution and traffic, the overall chaos of it all. He felt he was better off back home, rather than any old city.

Eyes connected to the stretching road ahead, he allowed his thoughts to roam, thinking of the changes he would have to adjust to. How would he sleep without the symphony of the night life to lull him to sleep? All of his friends – well the majority of them – going off and getting married, or already there, settled down with their families. That would have to be something he would have to get used to.

Sasuke could remember how shocked he'd been to hear that Naruto had gotten married to Ino, of all the woman in the entirety of the village. No one had particularly seen that coming. Kiba, one of his closest friends since they were children in elementary, had finally gotten the nerve to ask Hinata's hand in marriage, the shy little Hyuuga heir, evidently, the younger cousin of Neji, just another of Sasuke's closest friends. He had always been close to Neji, but never much to Hinata, besides passing conversations every now and then.

Neji… that had been his closest confidant, the only friend he'd stayed in touch with for the longest, before the long distance began to take its toll. The fees began to build up; long distance calls had never been so cheap, and with the cost of little things rising, there was no way Sasuke could keep a budget and continue to call his best friend every day. He'd become too busy to write letters, finding the idea tiring just with the thought.

The loss was a bit saddening, but the thought that they would see one another sometime in the future was what kept Sasuke moderately content.

He had ventured no further into his thoughts before the jingle of his cell phone startled him out of his thoughts. Glancing briefly at the screen, his pale finger mashed the 'talk' button, before pressing the phone onto his ear.

"Itachi?"

"Ah, little brother, where are you?" The voice on the other end hadn't changed much at all, still as deep and gentle as it used to be, though it had taken on a more masculine timbre.

Smirking just the tiniest bit, he replied, "Just on the outskirts of the village, brother, I should be home in an hour at best." In the background, he could hear his mother's worried inquiries as to his whereabouts. Itachi answered with a 'he's not far, mother,' before sighing.

"Well hurry and get here; mother is beside herself," it became quiet for a moment, before Itachi continued, "and we've missed you, Otouto."

Hands tightening on the steering wheel, Sasuke's foot pressed down ever-so-slightly on the gas, speeding up enough to make haste. "I'll be there as soon as I can, Aniki."

"You better." Itachi replied, before hanging up.

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Gradually moving further in the village, Sasuke could see that things were almost exactly as they were when he first escaped to the city. Only a few new places were posted around the town; a new gas station, a few department stores, and a super-center in the heart of the village.

The sidewalks were a bit full at this time of day, while vehicles kept the streets somewhat busy, the rumble of trucks growling in his ears, though many just preferred to walk. Taking a turn on a street he could remember walking many times when he was younger; himself, Neji, Naruto and of course, Kiba.

The four of them would always get into much more trouble than what was possible for just four adolescents. All those memories suddenly taking Sasuke back to the past, he could almost see an image of his younger self sitting on the curb beside his three best friends.

Just a few houses down now, and he could see his mother's same old Station Wagon, pulled up close to the garage door, and before he could even put his car in park behind hers, his sobbing mother was running out the door.

"My baby boy is home!" She cried, running with open arms towards the young Uchiha, who was just exiting the vehicle. The eldest Uchiha present, Fugaku, watched from the doorstep with a content smile, arms crossed.

Smiling once he was in his mother's embrace, inhaling her sweet fragrance, Sasuke knew that there was no place like home. Yeah, he did miss this.

"Aw, my little one, I missed you so much," she whispered, planting a kiss on his cheek. Mikoto pulled away at last, after pinching Sasuke's cheeks quite thoroughly. "Go say hello to your father." The older woman pushed him forward gently, folding her hands together over her apron.

Feeling hesitant to go towards the man he'd had a falling out with before he left, Sasuke brushed off his negative emotions towards his father and approached him.

Standing before him now as a man, Sasuke felt more respect than he did as a kid, simply because everything his father had been trying to tell him had been true, but he was so stupid and stubborn back then. Now he looked up to Fugaku just as much as he looked up to Itachi.

Thrusting out a hand, Sasuke waited for his father's to join his own, eye to eye now with the man who had once been many heads taller than he. Instead, his father surprised him as he wrapped his arms around his son's shoulders, patting him roughly on the back a few times before pulling away.

"It's good to have you back, son," Fugaku spoke with a proud smile, something that made him appear much younger than his forty odd years. The lines around his eyes stretched with the movement of his lips. Sasuke couldn't help but to smile back. The look in Fugaku's eye was something he feared would never be directed towards him.

Stepping away and to the side, Fugaku held his hand towards the opening of the house, beckoning his entrance. Once inside, Sasuke could spot his brother standing beside the window, cooing softly to the bundle in his arms.

Chuckling at how absurd Itachi looked with a baby in his arms, Sasuke shook his head. "Never thought I'd see the day you would be baby-sitting, Itachi," Sasuke quipped, knowing full well that was the pretty little girl Itachi had sent a picture of through his e-mail. Yes, even Itachi had finally grown up and established a family of his own. He'd married a woman from his work place, a girl Itachi had also attended high school with. Konan, Sasuke thought her name was.

Itachi snorted, smirking in Sasuke's general direction, though kept his dark eyes on the gurgling baby in his arms. Sasuke walked closer, feeling like he was being a bit of an imposition, until Itachi turned to him, holding the covered child out towards him.

"Come, meet your niece."

Holding out his hands, Sasuke felt a bit awkward; he'd never held a child before and he would never admit it, but maybe he was just a little frightened.

"Nii-san, she's beautiful," Sasuke whispered, staring down at the infant once Itachi had cautiously placed her in his arms, cradled against his chest. "What's her name?"

Itachi smiled, fingering her plush cheeks, dark eyes staring down with pride. "Rin," he supplied, throwing an arm around his younger brother's shoulder. Never did Sasuke think he would be standing here feeling so much happiness just being back home again in a little village he couldn't wait to leave years ago. However, here he stood, holding Itachi's newborn in his arms, the happiest he's felt in a long time.

There was only one thing that didn't sit right with him. Where were his best friends?

The infant in his arms gurgled, holding an arm out towards him, plump fingers landing innocently on his cheek. Itachi chuckled, wiggling the little limb in a playful gesture. Sasuke was in awe. Itachi was almost never so open, and the thought forced Sasuke to realize just how much he missed while he was away.

"Sasuke dear, you have visitors," Mikoto called from outside. Sighing deeply, Itachi dislodged his arm from around Sasuke's shoulder and carefully lifted his child into his arms.

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Before he could even step a foot outside the door, he heard the voices of the two most obnoxious people he'd ever had the misfortune of coming into contact with, but if he was being honest with himself, Sasuke felt elated. Standing outside leaning against a red mustang, were his three closest friends from childhood. Out of them all, surprisingly it seemed that Naruto had made the most changes.

The blond was tall, tanned and exquisitely handsome, though the Uchiha was loath to admit. His voice had grown deeper, less awkward as it used to be when Naruto was going through puberty; the time when it seemed to be somewhere between manly and childish.

Kiba was just an inch taller than Naruto, the tattoo markings on his cheeks only accentuated his looks now that he'd grown older, and his face more defined. When they were younger, the triangular markings made the Inuzuka look foolish, but now they gave Kiba an edge Sasuke knew the girls were immediately attracted to. Unfortunately for them, Kiba was taken.

Neji was actually the first to catch his eye, but the last one he analyzed, and what he saw, Sasuke couldn't deny that he was attracted to right away. Neji was tall and statuesque, elegant, even in the way he quietly told Naruto to shut up. His jaw was strong and defined, high cheekbones stood against fine pale skin. He outshined even Naruto.

Everyone had grown up so much, Sasuke felt; he had missed much more than he thought.

"Hey, teme, you in there?" A shock of blonde hair appeared blindingly before his eyes. "Hey, aren't you happy to see us?"

Behind Naruto, Kiba snorted, "Yeah, he don't look so happy to see us." So apparently along with the changes, Kiba had also become Naruto's mockingbird as well.

Snapping back to the present, Sasuke smirked, catching the hand waving around in his face. Naruto squawked in indignation, before growling and tackling the young Uchiha. The two of them rolled around for a moment, Sasuke trying to convince himself that he did not miss this, that they were much too old to be playing around like a bunch of teenagers. Those years were over; but he couldn't come to terms with this. On the sidelines, Neji watched on with merely a quirk of the lips, while Kiba whooped for the winning Uzumaki.

The skirmish ended with Naruto catching Sasuke in a headlock, smiling victoriously, the two of them panting as if they had just about ran a mile run. "Wow, Sasuke, Naruto took you down pretty easily; I think Sasuke's losing his touch guys!" Kiba quipped, elbowing Neji a little too harshly, who shot a glare of venom at his unruly companion.

"Settle down, Kiba, you of all people should know how much stronger Naruto has gotten since Sasuke has been gone," the white-eyed boy said in annoyance. "In fact, I remember you screaming 'uncle' that one insta-"

Kiba gawked in appall, "I did not!"

Suddenly the hold around Sasuke's neck loosened into an embrace. "We really did miss you, teme," the blond said softly. Sasuke turned, granting his old friend a few pats on the back, not used to such affection with his guy friends. All their interactions had only been handshakes and pats on the shoulder.

Kiba and Neji sauntered over, the Inuzuka congratulating the Uzumaki on his victory, while Neji held a hand out for the Uchiha to take. The moment Sasuke's hands came in contact with the Hyuuga's, all the old feelings he'd thought he'd ridden himself of came rushing back, setting off the butterflies in his lower belly.

"It's good to see you again, Uchiha," Neji spoke, breaking the silence between them, embracing Sasuke, though not allowing him to reciprocate the motion, before pulling away.

"And you as well, Hyuuga," Sasuke muttered, brushing the dirt and gravel from his designer jeans. The only thing that seemed to rub off on him while in the city, being the fashion trends. In Konoha, there weren't many department stores that held designer clothes, because no one really worried (or were informed) about the latest fashion trends.

Other things were valued more than just mere materialistic objects in Konoha.

Kiba scoffed, coming over to roughly lay a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Why are you two bein' all formal," he practically growled in his deep voice. Sasuke threw a glare in his direction, brushing that hand off his shoulder.

"So how is life with Ino, dobe?" Sasuke inquired in genuine curiosity. Truthfully, this was one coupling he had never seen coming. During the majority of their childhood and adolescence, Ino had really been nothing other than a bitch to the other blond.

Naruto laughed uncomfortably for a moment, hand massaging the back of his neck as he blushed. Relationships were never easy for him to talk about, even now as a grown man, one well experienced in the dating area. "Eh, it never gets boring, teme, I'll tell ya that."

Sasuke didn't think so.

Nodding to Naruto, maybe feeling just a little sympathetic for him, he then turned towards Kiba. "So you and Hinata-chan are finally tying the knot?"

Placing his hands upon his hips, Kiba stared proudly into the distance. "Yes, and let me tell you dude," he began with a wolfish grin, "she may be shy, but that girl is an animal in be-," never did Kiba finish that sentence before Neji swiftly turned and kicked him where it hurt the most. "GAHH!"

Holding onto his crotch as if his life depended on it, Kiba fell to his knees, eyebrows twitching madly and a sheen of tears glossing over his dark brown eyes. "What the hell was that for, Neji?"

Folding his arms calmly, Neji stared back at the Inuzuka indifferently, a hint of amusement playing around his nearly translucent eyes. "Never speak of my cousin that way in front of me ever again."

Growling, Kiba wiped away a stray tear, shaking a fist up at the long haired brunette. "Dammit, Neji, just because you're gay doesn't mean I can't talk about my manly stuff with another manly man!"

Stiffening, Sasuke could feel his eyes grow wide at this revelation. Neji was… gay? Well the last time he checked, wasn't he with that Chinese girl? Ting-Ting or whatever? No, wait, her name was Ten-Ten. Still trying to grasp the fact that Neji was a homosexual, he almost missed Neji's reply.

"That is beside the point, I'm sure Hinata-sama wouldn't want you telling everyone about your bedroom activities, would she, Kiba?" Neji had grown just a bit threatening in the breath it took for him to utter that sentence, and Kiba appeared absolutely cornered. What else did he miss out on?

Kiba immediately groveled, begging Neji to keep this little incident 'between buddies', and while Neji was enjoying this, Sasuke could see the way his eyes flickered up every now and then to catch his reaction, until finally he sighed, turning fully to Sasuke; ignoring Kiba for now.

"I'm sure you have questions, Sasuke." And he did, of course.

Feeling uncomfortable with everyone's eyes on him, Sasuke cleared his throat, shifting from his left foot to his right. "Um, what happened to Ten-Ten?"

Neji sighed, returning to sit on the hood of the Mustang, Kiba beginning to protest, before the Hyuuga shot him a glare that forced him to back down, burning with the threat of revealing his slip up to his soon-to-be. "We broke up about a year after you left. Not much to elaborate on that issue, we just didn't work."

Naruto and Kiba, who had already heard this story before, walked off to the side, engaging in their own conversation. Sasuke took the few steps towards Kiba's mustang, sitting next to Neji, feet propped up on the bumper as he leaned back on his hands.

"Well, when did you figure out you were gay?" Sasuke asked, tilting his head to the side, wondering if Neji found out like he did, in the midst of watching hetero porn, realizing it wasn't the girl you were looking at the entire time; you were too busy staring at the man's engorged erection, wondering how it would feel to have a monster like that ramming into you.

Neji grinned, eyes sliding to meet the Uchiha's. "The majority of the time I spent dating Ten-Ten," he chuckled, and Sasuke couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor girl.

After the laughter stopped, Neji looked down at his fidgeting hands, before turning back to Sasuke, eyes knowing. "What I want to know is how long it took for _you_ to realize your sexuality?"

Eyebrows furrowing slightly, Sasuke sat up, eye to eye with Neji now. "What makes you think that I'm gay?" Did he have a sign on his forehead that 'gay guy, right here,' or was it his persona, possibly? He was pretty sure he covered it up pretty well.

Neji laughed, shaking his head, "Sasuke, I knew you better than you knew yourself when we were younger." Sasuke didn't miss the past tense, which made him frown slightly. Neji was speaking as if he'd changed, as if the Hyuuga didn't know exactly who he was anymore, or maybe who he'd turned into.

Sighing, Sasuke swept the bangs out of his face. "I haven't changed much at all, you know…" His voice, he noticed, had grown melancholy along with the thought that maybe everyone thought he was someone different just because he'd been away for six years. Sasuke was still the same boy – now, man – that he was before he left for the city life.

"No you're not, Sasuke," here, Neji looked him directly in the eyes, translucent orbs burning into him eerily. "You just don't know how much you've changed, and it's not like that's a bad thing."

Then why did it feel like a bad thing? He'd gotten older, maybe a little calmer than what he used to be, if that was even possible. Could he have opened up a little bit more, like Itachi? What is this change that Neji was seeing, that he could not see in himself?

Relaxing back on his hands once again, Sasuke raised his head to stare up at the sky, feeling as if there was something else he should say, but disregarding what was at the forefront of his mind. Instead, he opened his mouth to answer Neji's previous question.

"I figured I was gay when I couldn't find an attraction to women, no matter how many I tried be with, just to convince myself that I wasn't." Stopping, Sasuke turned, seeing Neji listening intently to every word he said. "I remember I used to have a co-worker, Hozuki Suigetsu, he was always such a flirt, though with all the pretty women in the office. I was pretty sure he was straight, up until he'd asked me out one night."

Neji was turned fully now, listening to Sasuke reminisce quietly. The colors of their surroundings reflected brightly from his eyes, causing Sasuke to realize how very pretty his pearl orbs were compared to any other he'd seen before. "That one night, and we ended up back in my apartment, and that was my first experience with someone of the same sex, though there were a few after that. Though recently, I just got out of a lengthy relationship, so I'm not really planning on being with anyone, anytime soon."

Inhaling deeply, Sasuke wasn't expecting the next question, or the vague ferocity hidden within his words, but Neji's voice couldn't hide it. Though this made Sasuke a bit gleeful – when they were younger, Neji was always protective of him, being the runt of the group – he didn't much want to talk about his failed relationship.

But Neji being the one he was closest to in the group, the Uchiha knew that he would eventually find out. "He was the first person to really take an interest in me when I arrived in the city, though at the time, it wasn't in a sexual way. His name was Gaara, one of the craziest people I have ever met, besides Naruto of course." Looking away and down the street where a few kids were playing dodge ball, Sasuke let a wistful sigh escape his lips.

"Things would have been perfect if he didn't have to leave back to Suna. He'd told me at the last possible minute, said that a long distance relationship wouldn't be possible. Since then, he left me with a kiss, and I haven't heard from him at all after that." Three years gone down the drain, and Gaara hadn't even made an effort to see if things would work out between them.

Neji narrowed his eyes, following Sasuke's eyes to the end of their street, feeling as if he should say something to sooth the Uchiha, but maybe he was just a bit happy that the other boy wasn't around anymore, though he couldn't understand why he would want Sasuke to be miserable and lonely.

Clearing his throat, Sasuke tore his eyes away from the scene and back to his old friend. "So, everyone is settling down about this time, do you have someone in mind?"

Dread welled up in him as a tiny smile broke across Neji's face, as if he was remembering something, or maybe someone. "Yeah, I guess you could say it's something like that I'm planning." Sasuke felt his stomach drop as he had a feeling he wouldn't like this one bit.

"Eh, who is it?" He really didn't want to know, but he would end up seeing eventually with how much he was going to be around Neji and the others now that he was back home.

Neji grinned, "Do you remember Shikamaru?" The lazy boy they had attended high school with. The guy was born a genius, but it seemed he just slept his life away. Sasuke thought Shikamaru had to be the most uncaring individual he had ever met.

Sasuke looked down, all his hopes being crushed into the ground, along with his emotions. "Yeah, he's a nice guy."

Neji nodded, "Yes, I've been with him for two years now." Why is it that everyone could stay in a relationship, everyone was developing a family now, but he could only nurse a broken heart; one from Gaara and the other from someone he thought he'd gotten over years ago?

Maybe coming home wasn't the best thing.

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Now before this comes into question, I just want to make sure you all know the Seme/Uke status. When I write the pairing, it is in that order, so anyone who is not satisfied with Neji as the Seme and Sasuke as the Uke, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but that's the way things will go.

Anyways, thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoyed chapter one. Let me know what you think, please!


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